Grace Yee, an award-winning poet, has revealed how a snigger from a well-known male poet at an open mic event only strengthened her resolve to keep the title of her poem 'snow'. The poem, which Yee describes as 'whimsical', was inspired by a dream she had more than 20 years ago.
In the dream, Yee saw green gates, a bicycle, and a pink-striped eiderdown. At the time, her children were young and her relationship was breaking down. The dream offered a brief reprieve, a 'mellow not unpleasant yearning'. The poem's first draft was workshopped in a poetry class that was the highlight of her week.
Yee read an early version of 'snow' at her first public reading. When she announced the title, one of the well-known poets present sniggered. 'I took this as a sign to keep the title,' she said.
When revisiting the poem this year, Yee incorporated elements from a trip to her parents' ancestral villages in Guangdong, China. The 'pets in the city' are kittens from Guangzhou's Qingping Medicine Market; 'amber, blue and green' come from stained glass windows in early 20th-century houses near Taishan; and 'shelves of braille' is from the Baiyun Library's reading room for the visually impaired.
The final stanza, except for the phrase 'premium economy', has remained unchanged since the first draft. Yee notes that 'snow' is much lighter than most of her recent poems, describing it as 'whimsical'. Australian Poetry Month runs throughout August.
